Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Sale Of Royal Oasis A Timeshare Resort Again Reported To Be Imminent
The sale of the Crowne Plaza Golf and timeshare Resort and Casino at Royal Oasis again is reported to be imminent, but government remains tight-lipped as negotiations move forward.
But according to a reliable source, the only thing standing in the way of the sale is a difference of $4 million between the proposed offer of $25 million and the $29 million that the owners of the resort are requesting.
The sale of the resort to Harcourt Developments, a property construction and management company bas-ed in Dublin, Ireland, was pending nearly a year ago; however, that deal fell through some weeks later. The source said the Irish-based group is still reported to be the timeshare resort buyer.
Also according to the source, the plan is to have Westgate Resorts, the third-largest timeshare company in the world and the largest privately held corporation in the Central Florida area, operate the resort property while Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino will run the casino.
The Royal Oasis, the second largest timeshare resort in Grand Bahama, shut down in September of 2004 and government has been looking for a buyer for almost that long.
Driftwood Freeport Limited, owners of the resort, said the closure and the lay offs of some 1,200 employees were due to heavy losses incurred from Hurricane Frances.
The sale of the resort to Harcourt Developments, a property construction and management company based in Dublin, Ireland, was pending nearly a year ago; however, that deal fell through some weeks later.
The source said the Irish-based group is still reported to be the buyer, but Westgate will run the property.
In May 2005, the government paid out an unprecedented $5 million of the $6.12 million to 900 displaced workers owed by the resort.
The remaining $1.12 million, which government said needs the approval of Parliament, was expected to have been paid "in short order," but is still outstanding.
Meanwhile, scores of resort timeshare owners, who fear their monies are lost, are up in arms over the dead silence they say they have been receiving from both the timeshare owners and government regarding their assets. Several timeshare owners are looking into the likelihood of a class action suit.
But, according to the source, Westgate has agreed to pick up the disgruntled timeshare owners' outstanding points and include them in its portfolio.
David A. Siegel is founder, president and CEO of Westgate Resorts, which is based in Florida and has over 350,000 timeshare owners.
Mr. Siegel and Robert Earl, co-chairman of Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, announced last April they were partnering to develop a 52-storey luxury vacation timeshare ownership tower directly connected to the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino complex on the world famous Las Vegas Strip.
The closure of the Royal Oasis resort has had a spiralling effect on the unemployment rate, the economy and the tourism market in the nation's second city.
In an exclusive interview with The Freeport News three weeks ago, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe confirmed government is in negotiation with "new players" and that the new group has an international reputation.
While he declined to name the new players before the deal was sealed, the minister added that government was looking for players with "stickability" and one who could build Grand Bahama much like Atlantis did for Paradise Island.
If the deal for the Royal Oasis timeshare Resort goes through, the source noted, it will mean a huge win-win situation for everyone involved.
But according to a reliable source, the only thing standing in the way of the sale is a difference of $4 million between the proposed offer of $25 million and the $29 million that the owners of the resort are requesting.
The sale of the resort to Harcourt Developments, a property construction and management company bas-ed in Dublin, Ireland, was pending nearly a year ago; however, that deal fell through some weeks later. The source said the Irish-based group is still reported to be the timeshare resort buyer.
Also according to the source, the plan is to have Westgate Resorts, the third-largest timeshare company in the world and the largest privately held corporation in the Central Florida area, operate the resort property while Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino will run the casino.
The Royal Oasis, the second largest timeshare resort in Grand Bahama, shut down in September of 2004 and government has been looking for a buyer for almost that long.
Driftwood Freeport Limited, owners of the resort, said the closure and the lay offs of some 1,200 employees were due to heavy losses incurred from Hurricane Frances.
The sale of the resort to Harcourt Developments, a property construction and management company based in Dublin, Ireland, was pending nearly a year ago; however, that deal fell through some weeks later.
The source said the Irish-based group is still reported to be the buyer, but Westgate will run the property.
In May 2005, the government paid out an unprecedented $5 million of the $6.12 million to 900 displaced workers owed by the resort.
The remaining $1.12 million, which government said needs the approval of Parliament, was expected to have been paid "in short order," but is still outstanding.
Meanwhile, scores of resort timeshare owners, who fear their monies are lost, are up in arms over the dead silence they say they have been receiving from both the timeshare owners and government regarding their assets. Several timeshare owners are looking into the likelihood of a class action suit.
But, according to the source, Westgate has agreed to pick up the disgruntled timeshare owners' outstanding points and include them in its portfolio.
David A. Siegel is founder, president and CEO of Westgate Resorts, which is based in Florida and has over 350,000 timeshare owners.
Mr. Siegel and Robert Earl, co-chairman of Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, announced last April they were partnering to develop a 52-storey luxury vacation timeshare ownership tower directly connected to the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino complex on the world famous Las Vegas Strip.
The closure of the Royal Oasis resort has had a spiralling effect on the unemployment rate, the economy and the tourism market in the nation's second city.
In an exclusive interview with The Freeport News three weeks ago, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe confirmed government is in negotiation with "new players" and that the new group has an international reputation.
While he declined to name the new players before the deal was sealed, the minister added that government was looking for players with "stickability" and one who could build Grand Bahama much like Atlantis did for Paradise Island.
If the deal for the Royal Oasis timeshare Resort goes through, the source noted, it will mean a huge win-win situation for everyone involved.
# posted by John @ 4:43 AM 
